CERA

Support our work

Philanthropy

Becoming a major donor to the Centre for Eye Research Australia offers a unique and rewarding opportunity to make a real difference to people suffering from eye diseases in Australia and around the world.

Overview

By choosing to support CERA, together we can drive and accelerate the medical breakthroughs that will help to eliminate vision loss and blindness.

Our Philanthropy & Fundraising Team works closely to match your interests with the expertise of CERA. Like you, we want each gift to have the maximum impact, and to create better health outcomes for people experience vision impairment and blindness.

Family giving

At CERA, we believe the efforts of charitable individuals and families can make our world a better place. We are inspired by their willingness to share this passion with their family, to bring together family members whilst also educating and inspiring future generations.

For that reason, we are here to support families who collectively seek to support our vision of a world free from vision loss and blindness by offering bespoke opportunities to support the discovery of new treatments and cures for eye disease.

To have a private and confidential chat about how you and your family can create a lasting impact on the future of eye research, please email us or call 1300 737 757 to speak with a member of the Philanthropy & Fundraising Team.

Private ancillary funds

Many of our donors, both individuals and families, seek the strategic advice of private wealth advisers, accountants and lawyers to provide assistance in managing their philanthropic giving.

We can assure you that we have the very best systems in place to ensure a seamless relationship between yourself, your advisers and CERA. These processes ensure timely receipting and acknowledgement of and reporting on gifts received from private foundations and sub-funds.

What is a private ancillary fund?

A private ancillary fund (PAF) is a tax effective charitable trust for managing the funds you wish to distribute to causes and eligible charities that are important to you. Costs are involved in establishment and ongoing administration of PAFs and we recommend you receive independent advice from your accountant if you are interested in establishing a PAF.

What is a sub-fund?

A sub-fund is an account, otherwise known as a “giving account”, that sits within a larger communal philanthropic structure known as a public ancillary fund. Account holders received a tax deduction when they contribute funds to the account and then make recommendations to the trustees of the public ancillary fund as to where their funds should be allocated each year.

Did you know you can create a sub-fund with the Centre for Eye Research Foundation?

We can take care of all administration, investment and governance activities, leaving you to feel assured your philanthropic funds are supporting the long-term sustainability of our ground-breaking eye research.

To find out how to create a sub-fund with the Centre for Eye Research Foundation, please email us or call 1300 737 757 to speak with a member of the Philanthropy & Fundraising Team.

Trusts and foundations

Without the generosity of and partnership with trusts and foundations, we wouldn’t have the funding needed for our researchers to progress their research. This enables us to be more efficient and effective in achieving our mission of improving the health of the Australians suffering from eye diseases.

Multi-year grants in support of the salaries of our researchers are especially important to give our leading researchers security of tenure for a period of time required to make significant advances in their research.

Corporate partnerships

Philanthropic funding from organisations allows us to seed fund new ground-breaking research into important eye health issues currently affecting Australians including myopia, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, to name a few.

The Centre for Eye Research Australia is committed to developing long term, best practice partnerships with companies who share our goal of improving the eye health for all Australians.

The opportunities for involvement are diverse. From enhancing your brand profile or improving stakeholder engagement we can build a tailored program to meet your objectives and deliver tangible benefits.

Workplace giving

Workplace giving is the process of making regular donations to a charity via payroll deductions.  You do not have to worry about keeping receipts or waiting until the end of the financial year to obtain a tax benefit – an employer simply deducts a donation amount from their employee’s salary before deducting their tax.

An employee simply selects how much from pre-tax earnings they want to give to the Centre for Eye Research Australia. By giving a donation through workplace giving, employees are helping us achieve our vision of a world free of vision loss and blindness.

Event sponsorship

Organisations can support CERA by sponsoring one of our community forums and special events. As a sponsor, your business will receive rewarding and tailored event related benefits tiered sponsorship packages with brand, marketing, consumer activation, networking and other opportunities are available for each of our events.

For more information on our current events, please visit our events page, or email us or call 1300 737 757 to speak with a member of the Philanthropy & Fundraising Team.

Pro bono and in-kind

In-kind support is vital in helping CERA reduce costs and direct more funds to eye research. Pro bono support can be made through provision of services or goods such as printing, travel, event related supplies, prizes, advertising space and professional support and advice. All pro bono and in-kind support is recorded and appropriately acknowledged

To discuss any of these philanthropic opportunities, please email us or call 1300 737 757 to speak with a member of the Philanthropy & Fundraising Team.

Meet our team

Ryan McCarthy

Ryan is CERA’s Senior Manager, Philanthropy. He has over 15 years’ experience in relationship fundraising for leading international not-for-profit organisations.

Before Joining CERA in 2022, Ryan worked in diverse roles incorporating every aspect of fundraising, most recently as Philanthropy Specialist with Amnesty International, and High Value Donor Coordinator with Oxfam Australia.

In these roles he has instituted best practice relationship fundraising, developed highly successful multi-channel marketing campaigns, and worked toward building a greater culture of philanthropy in the sector.

Ryan is passionate about creating unique, memorable, and meaningful opportunities for donors to connect, collaborate, and create visionary change.

If you would like to discuss the ways that you and your family can create a lasting impact on the future of eye research, please don’t hesitate to contact Ryan directly at rmccarthy@cera.org.au.

Contact us

For more information on any of these philanthropic opportunities, please email us or call 1300 737 757  to speak to a member of the Philanthropy & Fundraising Team.